Canadian Council on Learning | Conseil Canadien sur l'Apprentissage

Health information easy to understand, but contradictory, Canadians say

Oct. 10, 2006 Ottawa—While most Canadians say that health information is easy to find and understand—and that they get all the information they need—a majority also reports obtaining contradictory information, according to a new large-scale survey released today by the Canadian Council on Learning.

That’s one of many findings from the first edition of the Survey of Canadian Attitudes toward Learning —a yearly barometer of opinions, perceptions and beliefs about lifelong learning in Canada.

Key Findings on Health-related Learning

• More than 80% of Canadians indicate that health-related information is accessible and easy to understand, but a majority say they obtain contradictory information.
• Canadians seek out numerous sources to obtain answers to health-related questions, including family, friends, media, books and the internet.
• Canadians find the most helpful health-related information on the internet, although they turn to their family doctor most often for such information.

The Survey of Canadian Attitudes toward Learning asked 5,266 Canadians about four aspects of learning throughout the lifespan: early childhood learning; health-related learning; structured learning (elementary, secondary and post-secondary); and work-related adult learning.

The survey was designed by the Canadian Council on Learning in consultation with Statistics Canada, and was also administered by the statistical agency. Results are based on telephone interviews conducted between April 25 and May 20, 2006.

For more information, please visit www.ccl-cca.ca/scal.

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The Canadian Council on Learning is an independent, not-for-profit corporation funded through an agreement with Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Its mandate is to promote and support evidence-based decisions about learning throughout all stages of life, from early childhood through to the senior years.

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